I Was Trained For This
by Shadow-TheLastHero
Summary: Sparkkit was always ignored. By her family, and just about everyone else. Except Briarthorn. Sparkpaw was treated like an outcast. Cats ignored her and, if they didn't, they spat names at her. Except Briarthorn. Sparkwater was always left out of everything. Cats hated her. Except Briarthorn. That was because she was the assasin. Briarthorn taught her everything about assasination..
1. As A Kit

**Here's another Warriors Challenge Forum story. This is for the 'I Was Trained For This' challenge. This is my first one named after the challenge, too!**

As A Kit…

The tall ginger she-kit dashed after the older she-cat, paws sending puffs of dirt up with every step. Despite being one so young, her tabby pelt rippled with muscle with every movement. Her pure blue eyes were narrowed slightly as, suddenly, she bunched her muscles for a moment and jumped on the dark brown tabby's back, squeaking, "I got ya, Briarthorn!"

The young ThunderClan warrior laughed at the young kit and glanced over her shoulder, her often-venomous green eyes softening as she looked at the kit. "Yes you did, Sparkkit. You did very good this session."

Sparkkit grinned at the tabby, thinking about how such good friends they were. And how they'd be friends forever. But she was young; she was naïve. She didn't know this was all an act, just to get her trust. She was too ignorant to realize this.

That was why Briarthorn was getting so close to the young kit now. To gain her trust.

* * *

Sparkkit proudly told her siblings about her day with Briarthorn, white-tipped tail curled neatly around her paws. However, the two didn't seem to care. Thrushkit – a brown tom-kit with a flash of white on his forehead, underbelly, and tailtip – was half-asleep from Sparkkit's 'story'. He was tired of her bragging about all the moves Briarthorn taught her. Meanwhile, Thrushkit's twin, Sparrowkit, rolled his bright green eyes in exasperation and continued putting his latest prank into action. Now Sparkkit's portion of the nest was covered in burrs, and their mother, Brownfeather, was too busy 'praising' Sparkkit to notice.

Just then, the three kits' father, a black-and-white tom named Patchclaw, came in, dropping a couple of mice by Sparkkit and Thrushkit. Smelling the fresh-kill, the three kits dashed at it. But Sparkkit was rudely shoved away and her brothers each got oe mouse, leaving the long-legged she-kit with nothing. But her father didn't notice. He had his fur brushing against his mate's dark brown one, tails twining together and similar green eyes meeting lovingly. The pair rarely noticed the fact that Sparkkit was left out of everything. Her brothers never let her play games with them, or anything fun like that! They always pulled pranks on her and were always mean to her. She was almost numb to their bullying. She had always been the odd one out, anyways. She looked most like her grandfather, former leader of ThunderClan Sparkstar, for whom she'd been named after. But it seemed no cat cared.

Sparkkit waiting for her parents to notice that she had no fresh-kill, but now their attention was on their twin sons, completely ignoring their lone daughter. So she got to her paws and, heading towards the nursery entrance, left. Almost instantly came Briarthorn, asking soothingly, "What's the matter, Sparkkit?"

With a small sniff the she-kit replied, "My daddy brought me and my brothers two mice to eat, but my brothers took both of them, and then mommy and daddy ignored me to watch them…"

"Oh, you poor thing. You can share some fresh-kill with me if you want," Briarthorn offered.

"Really?"

Briarthorn just nodded her head, leading the kit towards the fresh-kill pile, where she picked out a plump vole for the pair to share. A couple of cats flicked their ears in acknoledgement to the warrior, but most ignored Briarthorn.

"Why aren't any of the other warriors talking to you, or at least saying hello, Briarthorn?" Sparkkit asked in confusion.

"In that way, I'm a bit like you," the she-cat replied. "Not many cats pay attention to me."

Sparkkit was about to say something, but thinking of nothing, she fell silent. Briarthorn, sensing the kit's discomfort, said, "Come on, let's forget about everyone else for now. Let's enjoy the fact we have eachother."

"Okay, Briarthorn…"


	2. As An Apprentice

As An Apprentice…

"Thrushkit, Sparrowkit, and Sparkkit**, **you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprentices. Thrushkit, from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Thrushpaw. Your mentor will be Stormflash. I hope Stormflash will pass down all he knows to you."

Sparkkit's paws shuffled nervously as the leader, with a flick of her black-and-white-striped tail, called over the dark blue-gray tom.

"Stormflash, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Mouseclaw, and you have shown yourself to be brave and quick. You will be the mentor of Thrushpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

Stormflash meowed, "I will, Whitestar," before bending over to touch noses with Thrushpaw. The brown-furred tom was just barely supressing his excitement.

"Sparrowkit," called Whitestar, smiling faintly as the second tom of the litter stepped forewords, staring calmly up at his leader. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sparrowpaw. Your mentor will be Mudbelly." As the dark brown tom stepped forewords, Whitestar waited a moment before adding, "Mudbelly, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Ivystep, and you have shown yourself to be smart and loyal. You will be the mentor of Sparrowpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

Sparkkit could hardly contain her excitement as her brother touched noses with his new mentor and then headed back into the crowd of cats, settling down beside Thrushpaw. Then came her turn.

"Sparkkit, from this day on until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sparkpaw." The newly named apprentice waited patiently for her mentor to be named, running through a list of possible candidates.

_Maybe it'll be Hawkpelt, or Honeycomb, or… I don't know! It could be anyone!_ But her thoughts were stopped there as Whitestar continued her ceremony.

"Your mentor will be…" The black-and-white she-cat hesitated a moment, sweeping her gaze around the crowd of cats. Then her gaze settled on an all-too-familiar face. "Briarthorn."

The she-cat seemed surprised for a moment, then happy as she stepped forewords to stand beside Sparkpaw.

"Briarthorn, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Sparkstar, and you have shown yourself to be a viscious yet loyal warrior of ThunderClan. You will be the mentor of Sparkpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

The two cats turned towards eachother and touched noses before heading back to the crowd. Then the cheer began.

"Thrushpaw! Sparrowpaw!"

Sparkpaw waited for them to call her name as well, but they didn't. They surrounded her brothers and ignored her. Then her attention was turned to her mentor as the warrior purred, "Sparkpaw!"

The she-cat smiled up at Briarthorn and then asked, "When will we start training?"

Briarthorn simply turned around towards the camp entrance, calling back, "Up for a bit of battle training?"

Sparkpaw chased after the dark brown tabby with a squeak of excitement.

* * *

"Now, you have to stay silent or else the cat will hear you," Briarthorn instructed, displaying the crouch and movement.

Sparkpaw nodded her head, slowly creeping forewords so there was no sound from her pawsteps. Briarthorn smiled at her apprentice, before suddenly pouncing and snapping on thin air, as if biting down on a cat's throat.

"I want you to do that to me, except do it gently. I don't need to be killed."

Sparkpaw nodded her head again, stalking forewords, only to get a sharp cuff of her ear. Sparkpaw instantly sprang back and asked, "What was that for?"

"You have to stay hidden until the moment of attack," Briarthorn explained, lowering her paw again. "Now, sneak up on me, and remember everything I've taught you so far, Sparkpaw."

The ginger tabby flicked her ears in acknowledgement before whirling around and dissapearing into the shadows. She silently creeped around Briarthorn, who acted as though oblivious to her apprentice. Sparkpaw knew it was an act, but it was pretty believable.

When she was in the perfect position, she began to stalk towards Briarthorn. The she-cat's scent blew in her face and Sparkpaw was behind her. So, with a well-timed and well-aimed pounce, she landed neatly on Briarthorn's back and instantly bit her neck, though it was gentle enough not to draw blood. With a, "Good job, my apprentice," Sparkpaw climbed off, licking a single forepaw and dragging it over her whiskers, grinning at her mentor. Then, suddenly, Briarthorn announced, "You will be my new assassin."

"You're new what?" Sparkpaw asked, confusion glinting in her blue eyes.

"Assassin. You will kill any cat I tell you to kill and train under me, even after you get your warrior name. You're a natural killer."

"Kill!" Sparkpaw exclaimed. "Why would I want to kill another cat!"

"Quiet!" Briarthorn hissed, pinning down the apprentice and placing one firm paw over her mouth. "Don't you want revenge on all those cats that ignored you, putting your brothers in the spotlight and dragging you as far from it as possible?"

After a moment Sparkpaw calmed down, realizing her mentor's reasoning. "You're right," she mumbled through Briarthorn's paw.

Then Briarthorn got off the apprentice and told her, "When we're training, your assassin name will be Ivory. And you will refer to me as Lucus **(****Like Lucy, but take out the y and add in 'us' so it makes Luc-us)**."

Sparkpaw slowly nodded her head, then pricked her ears and growled, "We've got company."

Out walked one of the senior warriors, the white-furred Snowblast. The tom stared at mentor and apprentice then asked, "What are you doing, Briarthorn! You're making another Fangpaw!"

Sparkpaw recognized the name Fangpaw. The gray, black-striped tom had been chased out of the Clan, because some cat figured out he was behind a series of mysterious murders. And Briarthorn growled in reply to Snowblast, "No. I'm not making another Fangpaw. I learned from my mistakes with _him_ and am making a better assassin!"

At this, Snowblast backed up a back, green eyes wide in fear. "You mean… _You_ made Fangpaw a murderer!"

Briarthorn nodded his head, and almost instantly Snowblast whirled around, running towards the camp with a cry of, "I'm going to reveal who you truly are to the whole clan! I knew there was something evil about you!"

Briarthorn silently watched Snowblast go, then said, "I want you to show me what you can do. Stop him. Practice your battle moves, but don't hold back. And remember, leave no evidence, including the fur between his claws."

Sparkpaw instantly charged after Snowblast, claws unsheathed. The only time she stopped was to roll in a patch of wild garlic, completely masking her scent so no cat would recognize it. Then she continued on, eventually reaching the tom. All he had the time to do was open his mouth in a silent scream of shock and pain, claws managing to scrape her fur, as Sparkpaw jumped on his back, teeth meeting their mark in his throat. It took only a matter of moments for him to bleed out, and by then Sparkpaw was already turning back towards Briarthorn, licking the blood off her muzzle and fangs, claws glinting a bloody color in the dappled sunlight. Her forepaws were stained both blood-red and muddy-brown. She had to find a way to hide her fur, and burying it was the easiest, least noticeable way. No cat would ever learn of Snowblast's murderer.

Unless they were unfortunate enough to be her next target.


	3. As A Warrior

**I'm so happy so many people like my story! Thank you so much for supporting it in the first chapter. Hope you liked the last one. Also, the main reason I'm adding the AN's is because of a question one of the reviews had. Foxbracken, the reason cats are ignoring Sparkpaw is because they think her brothers, Sparrowpaw and Thrushpaw, are better than her.**

As A Warrior…

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the Stone Ledge for a clan meeting!"

Sparkpaw followed after behind her two brothers, pelt groomed to a rustic gleam, but the cats eyes were all for Thrushpaw and Sparrowpaw. It was as if she didn't exist. _I'll show all of them. Wait until they see what Lucus _really_ taught me._ That's what she thought as she walked to the base of the Stone Ledge. Her eyes drifted to her mentor, a brief smile crossing her features for a fleeting moment before her emotions were wiped clean with an expressionless mask, eyes staring blankly up at Whitestar, face neutral and posture giving away nothing. She had learned this from Briarthorn, to not let any cat know anything going on in your mind unless you want them to. Mostly in the moment of attack on a victim.

Then, as Whitestar began to speak, Sparkpaw pricked her ears slightly, listening intently to the ceremony.

"I, Whitestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend then to you as warriors in their turn. Thrushpaw."

The brown-and-white tomcat stepped forewords, head raised in a moment of pride. Sparkpaw made a mental note of that. He was full of himself, and that would later be his downfall.

"Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Thrushpaw, from this moment you will be known as Thrushspot. StarClan honors your strength and fighting skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

The newly named Thrushspot dipped his head briefly to the she-cat as she placed her muzzle on his forehead. In return he licked her shoulder and then stepped back into the edge of the crowd, settling beside his former mentor, Stormflash, who ruffled the young warrior's head fur with his tail, telling his something. It was too low, however, for Sparkpaw to hear.

"Sparrowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend you Clan, even at the cost of you life?"

As the newest warrior's twin stepped forewords there was a kind of cowardice in his movements, as if he was scared of the ceremony. That was his weakness. And, as Lucus had told her, it was always good to know the weakness of everyone, even those currently close to you. Especially those currently close to you, because they'll be twice as dangerous if you have to fight or kill them.

"I do," came Sparrowpaw's shaky reply.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Sparrowpaw, from this moment you will be known as Sparrowheart. StarClan honors your initiative and forethought, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

As Sparrowheart quickly moved into the gathering of cats, Sparkpaw stepped forewords, waiting for her own ceremony. As usual, it started with Whitestar meowing, "Sparkpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend you Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." _Not._

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Sparkpaw, from this moment you will be known as Sparkwater. StarClan honors your stealth and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Then began the cheer. As with her apprentice ceremony, they called out only her brothers. "Thrushspot! Sparrowheart!"

And, again as before, Briarthorn brushed up beside her, purring, "Sparkwater!"

But, instead of asking about when they would train, the new warrior asked, "Should I expect a target for tonight?"

Briarthorn gave a nearly invisible nod of her head, though Sparkwater heard the faint sound of the motion. Then the brown tabby whispered in a voice too low to hear – except for Sparkwater – "The pair you've been waiting all along for. Ask to spend your vigil on the outside of the camp, and when they're as tired as you think they'll get, go back into the camp and ask Thrushspot to come outside with you to check a scent. Then, kill him when in the forest. Go back to the camp, and finish off Sparrowheart, after getting rid of the evidence with Thrushspot, of course, but this time find other fur to replace it, preferably fur from one of our Clanmates, and preferably from one that had recently left and entered the camp. Then return to the outside of the camp and go around to the back, after grabbing Thrushspot's body. Call the alarm, and when everyone awakes, you run in, saying you had found a rogue outside the camp and had taken Thrushspot with you to chase it off. The rogue killed your brother, but it ran just after, not noticing you. You had realized it was suicide and had ran, thinking Thrushspot was behind you. When you found out he wasn't you ran back, but it was too late. He was already dead. Then you act as though you haven't noticed Sparrowheart's body – make sure never to look towards it or acknowledge its existence in any way up until now – until that point. You cry out in shock and exclaim that it might not have been a rogue that killed Thrushspot. Go to Thrushspot's body again, and search his claws, finding the fur between his claws and blaming the owner of that fur. They will either be banished or killed, and that'll be one less cat to worry about, because you should still be able to track them down if they're banished."

At the end of the long explanation, Sparkwater realized most of the cats had gone to their nests. All that was left was her, Briarthorn, her brothers, and Whitestar. She didn't acknowledge the fact she heard the plan, but she knew Lucus knew she heard. Ivory knew better than to ignore her mentor.

Going over to Whitestar, the ginger she-cat asked, "Do you think I could take my vigil outside, around the camp?"

Right away Whitestar nodded her head, as if not caring either way. And, without a word, she turned around and clambered up to her den. With that, all she had to do was wait.

**OHEMGEE! I'm almost done! Then I'm making a sequel. All that's left is during and just after Briarthorn's plan (though they'll be the same chapter. :P)**


	4. During The Plan

**The final chapter! Though this isn't the end. I'm going to make a sequal with Sparkwater. :3 But this is also probably my goriest chapter. O.e Lots of blood involved with killing her brothers! Especially Thrushspot!**

During the Plan…

The she-cat was waiting carefully for the cat to return. She had recently watched as Mudbelly left the camp, off hunting. Now she just had to wait until he returned. It didn't take long, and as he passed, she managed to quietly run her claws along his fur, light enough not to be noticed but strong enough to grab a pawful of fur. Just enough so he'd never know it'd been taken from him. Then, after he dissapeared into the warrior's den, and one more snore accompanied the other warriors, she called out, "Thrushspot! I think I smell a rogue out here!"

She carefully picked Mudbelly's fur out of her claws, curling her tail around it. It was easily light enough to carry with her tail, and the position made it seem natural. She often did keep her tail curled like this. Correction, she often carried fur in her tail like this for practice.

Just then her brother came out, chest puffed out as he said, "Show me the way, I'll take care of it."

It didn't take long for Sparkwater to find the perfect spot. Secluded, a decent distance away, and it smelled like Mudbelly had hunted there.

As soon as Thrushspot came in, she attacked, ducking under her brother and ripping her teeth deep into his hindleg, ripping through flesh. With a swift pull she knocked him off his paws, scrambling away to avoid being crushed. She spat out a hunk of blood-soaked fur and grinned at the sight of gleaming white in her brother's wound. He tried to get up to retaliate, but she fell on him again, claws leaving gaping wounds along his body. Then she finally dealt the death blow, claws tearing the half-dead tom's throat out. He writhed in pain for a moment, then fell limp.

Sparkwater carefully pulled all of her fur from her brother's claws, replacing it with Mudbelly's, then picked up her brother by the scruff, squinting her eyes to force tears to spring to her eyes. She shuffled her paws, as if grief-stricken that her brother was dead. But, luckily, she didn't run into any Clanmates. She hid her brother's body in a place no cat would find him, then she slipped into the camp, nodding her head silently to her other brother. She acted as though checking the dens for the 'rogue'. As she poked her head into the warriors' den, her brother switched his attention from her to the camp entrance again. As soon as he wasn't watching, she turned around, creeping up behind him and jumping onto his back, biting him in the throat before he could make a sound. Careful not to get her paws bloodied and to lick up all the blood from her muzzle and teeth, she crept around the puddle quickly forming around her brother's writhing body. Then she slipped out of the camp entrance to grab her other brother again.

"Thrushspot is dead!" she screeched, running as fast as she could with her brother's weight into the camp once again. She made sure to look everywhere but Sparrowheart as she dropped Thrushspot's body. She was relieved as her Clanmates surrounded her, blocking any chance of seeing Sparrowheart.

"We had gone out to look for a rogue I had scented," she began, noting the confused and shocked faces on her Clanmates," and when we reached it I realized it was suicide to fight it. I ran, assuming Thrushspot was following, but he wasn't. It was too late, however, by the time I got back…"

Just then Whitestar walked through the crowd and the group of cats split, making an empty space that revealed Sparrowheart. She let out a gasp of shock and cried, "My brother!" She dashed forewords, shoving past Whitestar and dropping next to her brother, her nose shoving deep into his cold fur and fake sobs wracking her body. Instantly cats began to surge around her, murmurs and touches of comfort coming from all angles. "It might not have been a rogue that killed my brother." Sparkwater pushed through her clanmates, half of her fur stained bloody red from Sparrowheart's blood. Briarthron was there as well as Sparkwater glanced at her brother's paws and exclaimed, "Mudbelly!"

The brown tabby seemed shocked as the young warrior lifted up a scrap of his fur in her paw, letting the whole Clan see. At once Whitestar called out, "Mudbelly, what have you to say for yourself?"

"I didn't do it! I swear on StarClan I didn't!" Thrushspot's former mentor cried out in shock, but half of it was drowned out by cries of outrage.

"Mudbelly, from now on you are banished from ThunderClan! Get out of my sight before I sentence you to an much worse fate!"

The tabby stared with wide eyes at his former Clanmates then ran through the camp entrance, tail between his legs. A faint smile touched Sparkwater's mouth for a moment, to brief and small to notice, accompanied with the fact that she was looking away from her Clanmates. Then she put her mask of grief back on and looked back at Thrushspot. She noticed her mentor looking over her brother's injured hindleg, and one of her ears twitched faintly. Sparkwater acknowledged the signal by crouching beside Briarthorn and the green-eyed she-cat whispered, "You are too good for ThunderClan. Meet me at the edge of the territory, the corner furthest from the lake where our territory meets WindClan's, got it?"

Sparkwater nodded her head in acknowledgement. Then jumped back as suddenly her mentor screeched, "Sparkwater's lying! She killed her brothers!"

"What are you saying?" Whitestar demanded. "Why would she do so, and how can you tell?"

"Well, when she was my apprentice, I taught her a move to knock a cat unbalanced and to leave one leg almost unusable. It leaves the opponent's leg like this," Briarthorn replied, flicking her tail at Thrushspot's injured hindleg.

Whitestar turned her attention onto Sparkwater and, with a feral snarl, she called, "ThunderClan, attack this murderer, traitor, and liar! She is no longer a member of this Clan!"

Sparkwater had began to run as soon as Briarthorn had announced the proof. She managed to faintly catch Whitestar's order and she put on a burst of speed, eyes wide, but heart burning with anger and a feeling of being betrayed. She had trusted Lucus, but she had let out the secret, and now she was being hunted down. She let out a screech of shock as a figure crashed into her side and pinned her down. She wialed, "Don't kill me! Give me mercy!" Then a clawed paw cuffed her on the ear and she looked into the face of her attacker.

"I told you to meet me here, not run past me."

"Briarthorn?" Sparkwater was confused, then realized she was at the corner of ThunderClan territory Briarthorn had told her about. Then the events just after the order pushed through her fear-clouded mind and she let out a mad screech, shoving her mentor off. "Lucus, you betrayed me!"

"No, I gave you the chance to follow your destiny."

Sparkwater let a confused look overcome her features for not even a heartbeat, then quickly let the anger overcome her again. But now she was curious as well. What was Briarthorn talking about?

"If you go around the lake territories then go in the opposite direction of the mountains, you'll find a group of cats. Actually, twelve groups of cats. They are known as the Zodiac Territories. There's the Airies, the Taurus, the Gemini, the Cancer, the Leo, the Virgo, the Libra, the Scorpio, the Sagittarius, the Capricorn, the Aquarius, and the Pisces. They have been without a leader for too long, and now you will be giving them one. I have never had a better assassin, and I thought of no better cat to take my place after my too-long absence. I will tell the Clans I killed you, and they will stop tracking you down." Then, with a swift flick of Briarthorn's paw, she hit Sparkwater's muzzle, blood staining the dark brown tabby's paw with blood. "You fell into the river before I could get your body to bring back, and by the time I return, it would have drifted to the lake. Now go, and don't get caught until you reach the Zodiacs." And, with a swift flash of brown and green, Briarthorn dissapeared, leaving Sparkwater to either live as a loner or rogue, or to take up Lucus's offer and take up the reigns of these 'Zodiac Territories'. Which do you think she chose?

**Finally done! Now, you may be wondering about the Zodiac Territories. Well, they're a big part of my sequal. My sequal is another Warriors Challenge Forum challenge. Heheh. :3 I thought it would fit together. ;D Well, hope you liked the ending of 'I Was Trained For This'.**


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